Missing
by fanwriter95
Summary: Bella returns from hunting one day to find Edward gone. She goes searching for him, and finds out just how much the human world has changed in the past two hundred years. Will she find her love, or will he remain missing?
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry to all the people I talked to earlier, I know I said I'd have this story up sooner, but I got busy and forgot for a couple of days. anyway, hopefully you enjoy this story, I worked hard to make it as close to perfect as possible.**

**Also, thanks to bellabriggs who talked this story over with me and helped me develop my plot more, this story is for you. :) and for everyone else who has been a fan of my stories from the beginning.**

**now for the disclaimer. this goes for the whole story cause I don't want to repeat myself: I do not own Twilight and never will. **

**ok, now on with the story! **

Ch. 1

I threw my face up toward the sun, feeling the warmth against my cold skin. I laughed quietly as I realized the irony of this peaceful moment. In a world both aware and unafraid of vampires, I hardly went outside anymore.

Edward was much more careful. He was back at our home, an old shack long ago abandoned. He thought it would be safe to stay there while I hunted, he could easily warn me if someone appeared. This was an almost unnecessary precaution, but we couldn't have a human finding the shack. Not when so many things in it led back to all of our family.

I sighed and stepped out of the sun. I didn't want to sparkle anymore, to stand out in this dense forest. Two hundred years ago, I wouldn't have seen myself here. Maybe Alaska, or even Antartica. Not hiding for my life in the middle of Brazil, especially not from _humans_. No, things had definitely changed.

A growl rose in my throat as I thought of the vampire that had wanted to "stand up to the Volturi". He hadn't known what it would mean for the rest of us, and gave away our kind eagerly. Of course, then no one thought of the Voturi as protecting and wise. No one imagined that the humans would create something with the power to destroy us...

Two hundred years and everything had changed.

I made my way back to our home. It wouldn't take long, I never went very far. In minutes I was at the front door. I tried to hear what Edward was doing on the other side of the door, but silence met me. I opened it and whispered, "I'm back."

Nothing.

I walked around, searching. "Edward, it's me. Where are you?"

Silence.

I walked into our room and spotted a note. I recognized Edward's elegant script at once:

I'm sorry, love. Look after my heart,  
I will try to find a way back to you.

_Look after my heart. _It reminded me of our honeymoon. But the last part was what caught my attention. Did it mean he was gone? there was no sign of anyone being here. Nothing missing, even the smell was just the same.

What happened to him? Had he left on his own? It seemed likely, but why? My still heart ached. It longed and worried for Edward. Nothing added up, he was supposed to be here. He never left without talking to me first. It had to have been an emergency. Then a thought crossed my mind. Had Alice called him?

That would explain it. She must have seen something. A picked up my cell-phone no bigger than my pinky finger (just when I thought they couldn't get any smaller, they had) and dialed her number.

Alice picked up emmediatly. "Bella, I haven't seen Edward. Why are you asking? Aren't you with him?"

So she hadn't called him. "Edward's gone. I came home and he wasn't here. I don't understand, there's no sign of humans anywhere. He didn't even have a reason to leave."

Alice was silent for a minute. "I can't see him. I just tried looking and no matter how hard I try, I can't find him anywhere in the future."

"What do you mean he's gone? You're a freaking psychic for God's sake!" Panic warped my voice until it was hysterical.

"Calm down, Bella! We'll find him. Why don't you come to my house? Jasper and I would love to have you visit. We can talk about what to do then."

I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. "Ok. Where are you living now?"

"For the past five years we've been in Arizona. We live in the desert, so it's safe. No one comes here unless it's at night when the heat isn't deadly."

I knew what Arizona was like. Even now I remembered the sun and warmth that was ever-present in Phoenix. Maybe that was the best place to be right now. "I'll take the first plane there."

I could almost see her wide grin. "Good. I'll call you when you get off the plane and give you directions to our house. See you soon!" Then Alice was gone, leaving me in the shack alone. I wished Edward were here. I wondered how I had survived my human years without him. My other half. My love.

~* ~* ~*

I stood in front of Alice and Jasper's house. In the pocket of my jeans I carried the note Edward had written me. I decided to show it to Alice, maybe she would find something.

Would I ever see him again?

Before I had time to consider knocking, the door swung wide open. In front of me stood my sister and closest friend. Alice. "Bella!" She almost screamed, as if she weren't expecting me. Alice hugged me and smiled. "It's crazy awesome to see you again!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Crazy awesome?"

"Sorry, that's what people are saying these days." Her expression grew apologetic.

This caught me off guard. "You're still in contact with humans?"

Jasper appeared behind her. "Of course, you think she'd wear the same outfit twice?"

I gave a half-smile. "No. I guess not." Even without an excuse, I had a feeling Alice would still talk to humans. She loved socializing too much for her own good.

"Well, are you going to come in or just stand there?" Alice teased. I followed her into the house and she closed the door behind me. "And anyway, talking to people is how I found out what happened to your mom."

I spun around to look at her. "What did you find out?"

"Her and... um, what was his name?"

"Phil?"

"Yes, him. Her and Phil lived a long and happy life." Then she walked over to a strange-looking couch and sat down. I followed after her. I marveled at how soft the couch was. Alice continued casually. "I saw her great-great-great-great-great grandchild a few weeks ago. She was planning a wedding."

"Wait, are you saying Phil and Renee had a _child?"_ Had I been an older sister this whole time? The thought distracted me from the reason I had come.

Alice smiled widely. "A little girl. And now her ancestor is getting married. Congratulations, you're an aunt!"

"Wow. All this time...." I thought of the sister I would never see. I wished I would have heard sooner. But Renee had thought I was dead, so I wouldn't have been able to see her even if I had known. The thought saddened me.

"Bella, I'm seeing a faint vision of you visiting her. I'm not letting you go, it's too dangerous."

"How is seeing my family dangerous?" She was my relative. And, she was getting _married_. I had to see her.

Alice gave me a meaningful look. "For one, you look like the vampires they despise. Minus the red eyes. And it's going to be outside. In the middle of the day. Second, you have to be invited. What are you going to tell her when she asks why you're at her wedding?"

I nodded sadly. "I guess you're right." Then I remembered why I was here. I carefully pulled out the note from Edward and handed it to Alice. "He left me this."

Suddenly the room grew solemn. Even with Jasper beside me, I felt no better. His gaze was focused on the slip of paper in his wife's hand.

"It doesn't make sense. Edward wouldn't leave without telling you where he went. At the very least he would have left some sort of clue." She scrutinized the paper as if a secret message was hidden in invisible ink.

Then something on the back of the paper caught my eye. Jasper noticed my dramatic change in mood. His head snapped up from the note, his eyes holding confusion. "What is it, Bella?"

"I think I know where the clue is."

**I know, cliffy. Sorry about that. I promise I'll write a longer one, too. I just changed a lot from my first draft.**

**The good news is, if I get a ton of reviews I'll post lots sooner! so go ahead, tell me what you think! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's been a long time. My internet was acting up (I know, it always seems to get in the way!). Lately, I haven't been able to write at all. It's been CRAZY here!**

**So with that being said, you might want a recap of the last chapter:**

_**Then something on the back of the paper caught my eye. Jasper noticed my dramatic change in mood. His head snapped up from the note, his eyes holding confusion. "What is it, Bella?"  
**_

_**"I think I know where the clue is."**_

Ch. 2

Carlisle sat across from me, Edward's note in hand. Everyone had come, but even with nine people in one room there was dead silence. "I'm pretty sure I know what it means."

Seven faces emmediatly turned toward Carlisle. I walked to his side and knelt to get a closer look. "What does it say?"

Carlisle grabbed a pen from his coat pocket and started scribbling letters on the note. "This is a code we used," a smile appeared, softening the mood just a little. "It came in handy when the family played some of the more.. competitive games. I'm suprised he still remembered it."

Alice's eyes widened. "That's how you mananged to win! I always thought Edward was just reading our minds."

"He did sometimes, but he's the only one with that ability." Carlisle reminded her.

Jacob, who had been watching the discussion with growing impatiance, spoke up. "Can't we just see what he wrote already?"

Rosalie shot him a harsh glare, as if he wasn't allowed to talk. Even after all this time they still hated each other. "Now, why would a mutt like _you _want to find Edward?"

"Because I, unlike _some_ people, am able to care about people other than myself!" Jacob's expression turned smug as he watched Rosalie smolder in fury.

I was about to warn Jacob to either knock it off or get a head start, but Alice stepped in. "Rosalie, I will not have you killing members of our family in _my_ house!"

"But-" She began.

"And don't even say that he deserves it, Rose."

Jacob laughed quietly and mumbled something like. "Yeah, Blondie, why don't you go fix your make-up?" This earned him another glare from the already fuming vampire.

Carlisle seemed oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place. He handed me the note suddenly and said, "This is the key for the code. I want you to decipher it, seeing as it was you he was writing it to."

The decoder was two lines of letters. I began slowly, but my mind was able to memorize what each letter was substituted for in no time. The letters began to form words and words turned into a phrase. I handed the pen back to Carlisle and read the phrase out loud. "Four unknown men. Anchorage."

Carlisle sighed and buried his face in his hands. "It's worse than I thought."

"What does it mean, exactly?" Jasper asked, his voice hardly rising above a whisper.

Alice spoke for Carlisle, who now resembled a statue. "It's pretty straight forward. Four men came and they're taking him to Anchorage, Alaska." Then her face grew blank. She glanced uneasily at Carlisle and continued. "The 'unknown' part means he doesn't know if they're human or not. For all we know, they could be something else entirely."

The silence was filled with emotions we could all feel. The biggest emotion we were use to, but made the silence unbearable. Fear.

Jasper eventually fought through the fear he felt more than the rest of us. A blanket of calm enveloped the room. Everyone, including Jasper, sighed in relief. "Well, it looks like we're going to Alaska."

I looked at the eight people sitting around me. I didn't want to lose any of them. "I'm going alone. I won't put any of you in danger."

Alice frowned. "Bella, all I see now is you dying. I'm coming, one person won't be able to save him alone. Especially if we don't know what we're dealing with." She smiled. Obviously, the future had changed to something more possitive.

Jasper put an arm around Alice. "Then that means I'm coming, too. I can't stand the thought of staying here while you're in danger."

She giggled. "Jazz, you know know I can take care of myself. But you're right, I'd like it better if you came with me."

"I don't think what we're dealing with is like anything we've faced before. Bella said that she couldn't even smell anything odd. Whatever they are, they're very smart and _very _skillful."

Renesmee stood. "I'm going, too."

"No. It's not safe." Jacob's face hardened.

She took his hand. "You can come with me, Jakey." Renesmee was no fool, she knew just what to say to have anyone wrapped around her finger. The poor guy seemed at war with himself. I knew he wanted a part in the action, but he refused to put Renesmee in danger, but my clever daughter wasn't going to give him the chance to consider it. She looked pleadingly at Jacob. "Please? It's my _father."_

That did the trick. With a sigh Jacob relented, "Ok. I guess if I'm there to protect you..."

"Oh thank you, Jakey!" She hugged him tightly. "Just watch, we'll have him back in no time!"

Emmett turned to Rosalie, mocking Renesmee's pleading expression. "Can I go with them?"

"I'm not going and you're staying with me. Besides, five people is enough." She shot a look at Jacob, and I figured that there was another reason she wasn't coming.

Emmett attempted to protest, but his wife stopped him before he had the chance. I decided this was a good time to talk to Alice, Jasper, Renesmee, and Jacob. I guestured toward the door and they followed me out. Outside the sun was setting, but there was still enough light to make our skin glow slightly. I remembered what Alice said about humans not coming here during the day with relief.

Once again Alice knew what I was going to say before I said it. Her eyes narrowed. "Don't _even_ say that, Bella! Do you know what it would do to this family if we lost you? Just because you _think_ you've lost Edward doesn't mean you can go off by yourself and-"

I cut her off, she didn't seem ready to finish anytime soon. "Calm down, Alice. You're coming with me, I just want you to know how dangerous it is." I smiled, "I'll need all of you to help me."

Jasper looked around. "So it's settled. We're all going."

Alice smiled, then the joy drained slowly from her face as she looked into the future. "Bella, we have to go. Now."

"What are you talking about?" I knew not to take Alice's visions lightly, but I couldn't help sounding skeptical. "It's still too light to leave."

"No, that's not what I meant. We need to go inside. Someone's coming!"

We hurried inside, and Alice filled in the rest of the family. Carlisle asked, "Is it a human?"

"I don't know, whoever it is is hard to see clearly. It's almost like Renesmee, but..." She trailed off, deep in thought. Everyone gazed uneasily at the door as a strong knocked sounded through the house.

**I know, I always leave cliffys. but what would a story be without them? ;) I'll try to write sooner, would that help? lol. please tell me how I'm doing, I'd love to hear from you even if it's just criticism. How about this, the more reviews I get the sooner I'll post.**


	3. Chapter 3

**wow, I didn't mean to disappear for almost 2 months. really, I didn't. I got this written a long time ago, but then all this stuff happened (both really good and really bad) so I never posted. I just now remembered that I had to do it. (sorry, Constance, know you were probably waiting a really long time to see what happens next. and now I have to make it up since I'm not writing a second story.) Well, with that being said I'll recap what happened since it's been a while:**

_**"Is it a human?"**_

_**"I don't know, whoever it is is hard to see clearly. It's almost like Renesmee, but..." She trailed off, deep in thought. Everyone gazed uneasily at the door as a strong knocked sounded through the house.**_

Ch. 3

Carlisle got up and opened the door. "Hello?"

"Oh, I didn't realize... is this a bad time?" The voice was a girl's.

Alice, wearing a look of confusion, walked to the door. "Katie? What are you doing here?"

"I... uh... wanted to talk to you about something."

I heard Alice's voice grow hesitant. "We have our family over, but you can come in."

The girl that walked in was short. Her brown hair was tinged with a slight red and flipped out at her chin.

Emmett gasped softly and looked quickly from the girl to me, then back to the girl. "Wow. Bella, do you see her eyes?" he asked, too low for her to hear. They were brown, yet so different from any other eye color I had seen in a human before.

I replied in an equally low voice. "What about them?"

"She has the same color eyes that you used to have!"

I looked back at the girl. She looked familiar, but I was sure I hadn't seen her before. I tried to remember why she looked familiar, but I couldn't find anything in my crystal clear memories. Maybe it was in my human years...

Alice came in, and I dismissed the thought. A man came in behind her, but as soon as I noticed him Alice's voice cut in. "Katie, this is my family. Emmett and Rosalie are seated over there. My parents, Esme and Carlisle, are to their left Renesmee and Jacob are over here, and seated near Carlisle is Bella. I'm sure you've already met my husband Jasper."

Jasper smiled warmly, "nice to meet you."

Katie nodded and looked around the room in amazement. "You have a large family. I'm not sure if I'll be able to remember everyone's names."

Alice laughed, "oh, it's not that hard after a while." Then she stepped aside and motioned toward the man behind her. "This is Katie's husband, Josh." The man was attractive for a human. His brown eyes seemed very intuitive, and I felt a hint of deja vu.

Renesmee got up, followed closely by Jacob, and greeted Josh. It seemed like I was the only one that noticed her look of confusion that only lasted a second. Something wasn't right, and I just had to find out what.

"Alice, can I talk to you for a second?" She nodded and I walked to the nearest room, a very neglected kitchen. Apparently her and Jasper hadn't bothered to put much in it besides a small table and a few chairs.

"You're wondering what they're doing over here, aren't you?"

As a matter of fact that was exactly what I had wanted to talk about. I realized she probably saw me asking. "How do you know those two?"

Alice look back toward the living room cautiously and spoke in a voice so low I almost missed it. "Don't you recognize her? That's the girl I was talking about before, the decedent of your younger sister."

Wait. "That's her?" I couldn't believe it. She _looked_ so much like me- at least how I had as a human. Even her hair wore that red tinge to it, no doubt from the sun earlier today. But why was she here? Why now?

"Bella, we need to go back now. I'm no mind reader, but I'm pretty sure they're wondering what we're talking about."

I winced at the mind reader comment, earning a sympathetic look from Alice. I shook my head and try to keep my voice from breaking, "I'm fine. Really." In truth I wasn't even close to fine; I had to find Edward. We were wasting time just sitting here talking.

"Hold on a second, we need to find out what they want first." When I looked at her questioningly she added, "I saw you running out the door. I'm sure he's fine."

I wished I believed that. I wished it were that simple, but my love was missing and I couldn't stand it. I took a deep breath in, mentally reminding myself that I had to act human, and walked back to the living room. Josh and Katie were sitting on a couch beside Renesmee and Jacob. The two couples seemed very interested in each other. I walked back over to my spot near Carlisle just as their conversation came to an end. Four more pairs of eyes turned to focus on me, Josh's seeming the most curious. I swore he could see what I really was, he looked at me as if he knew my whole story. I turned my gaze away, it was too unnerving.

"So," Carlisle began. "How long have you known Alice?"

Katie spoke up. "I met her a few weeks ago, we ran into each other shopping." Of course they would, knowing Alice. Other members of our family gave Alice a knowing glance but remained silent. "We began talking and it turns out we have a lot in common." Her eyes landed on my face only a split second, but long enough for me to catch her expression. It held nearly as much understanding as her husband's. Turning her attention to Alice she said, "I'm surprised you don't live closer to the city. I would have thought it would be safer."

The stunned silence lasted only a second before Alice tried to come up with an excuse. "Well, um, this house has always belonged to our family. I just couldn't abandon it."

Katie, face composed, looked Alice in the eye and said, "You can stop pretending, I know what you are. I need help."

**It's a lot shorter than I planned, and also a bit rushed but oh well. What do you think? Review and tell me. I have plenty more to write about Katie and Josh, but I won't even begin to write the next chapter until you guys review. :P come on, you know you want to!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, I'm sooooo sorry! It's been months since I've updated. I know I could make excuses and say I was really busy, but really I couldn't think of anything to write and kept putting it off XD. Now to make it up to you, I'm going to write a longer chapter just for all of you :)**

**to recap the last chapter:**

_**The stunned silence lasted only a second before Alice tried to come up with an excuse. "Well, um, this house has always belonged to our family. I just couldn't abandon it."**_

_**Katie, face composed, looked Alice in the eye and said, "You can stop pretending, I know what you are. I need help."**_

Ch. 4

Alice laughed as if the thought was ridiculous, but I saw the tension in her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Katie."

My niece refused to relent. "You're a vampire; your whole family is. But don't worry, I don't care."

A silence fell on the house. Finally Carlisle spoke up. "You are accusing us of being the same monsters you despise, and you _don't care?!_"

Everyone turned to look back at the couple, all seeming to ask the same question. How could she _not _care?

"I know how crazy it sounds," Katie began. "But I know you won't hurt me. I guess it must run in the family to trust vampires." She glanced at me, and I returned her look with a dumbfounded stare.

Had Alice told her that we were related? No. She would have told me if she had. So how else did she know? We had seriously underestimated this girl, she seemed to know everything about us. I tried to compose myself enough to choke out a small "how?"

Katie's gaze shifted to her husband who put an arm around her and pulled her close. "Josh is a lot like all of you. His ability is what helped us figure out what you are, along with other things." She looked back at me.

A million questions started to bubble up. What did she mean, Josh was human wasn't he? He didn't look at all like a vampire, but he had an ability. What _was_ his ability? And what other things had she found out? As I thought about this, things began to click. I closed my eyes and tried to listen, hoping I wasn't right. I could hear Katie's heartbeat clearly, but Josh's was more difficult. I tried to block my niece's out as best as I could and focus on the man beside her. His seemed softer, and perfectly matched another beat making it almost blend in.

I gasped, my eyes flying open. Could it be?

I looked at my daughter. She was wearing a look of utter confusion. "What is it, Mom?" She asked.

I realized then that she knew nothing about Katie. I started at the beginning. "Ness, meet your cousin." I guestured to the girl beside her.

My daughter's face lit up in excitement. "Really?!" She hugged Katie tightly. "Wow, I didn't realize that- I knew I had a large family but- this is so cool!" Everyone laughed as Renesmee struggled to find the right words.

Katie, on the other hand, gasped for air. "Nessie I can hardly breath," she managed to say.

The ecstatic Renesmee let go and blushed. "Sorry, I got carried away."

Her cousin smiled, "It's ok. I know I'd be happy too, in fact I was when I found out."

Josh laughed. "Happy is a huge understatement. Kate was sure most of the people in her family had died long ago."

His statement distracted me for a second. How many people in my own family had I never met because I was suppose to be dead? The thought was unsettling. Then I remembered that I still had more to tell Renesmee and, for that matter, the whole family. I shook my head to clear the disappointment that clouded my mind. "There's something else you need to know."

Renesmee stopped smiling and looked at me. Once again her face was filled with confusion. "What?"

I took a slow breath in, trying to find the right way to phrase it. "Josh _isn't_ normal, like they said before. But he's not a vampire. He's half, just like you."

Everyone either gasped or close their eyes so they could listen and see for themselves. Alice shook her head and whispered, "I should have known. All those signs..."

But the most surprised was Renesmee. She had only met one other person that was like her. I gave her time to let it soak in. After a few minutes she looked back at her cousin and said, "You told us you needed help with something."

Katie's face grew uncertain, and she nodded. "I've never felt like I belonged. My small family never did seem to understand me. When I met Josh everything changed. He told me what he was and that he couldn't age. I've decided that I want to be with him- forever." She gave me a knowing look. "I'm sure you know all about that."

I was shocked. "How do you know?"

This time it was Josh who spoke. "I know everything about a person as soon as I hear their voice. Most of the time it's hard for me, but every once in a while I'll pick up something- or _someone_- interesting." He glanced at Alice before looking back at me and continuing. "I spoke to Alice when she met Katie and learned about your family. I saw that you had chosen a different lifestyle and had lived that way for centuries. I admire this family's restraint."

"And that's why I know you can change me," Katie finished. "You are the only vampires I know that could do it easily."

No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Carlisle was the one who broke the silence. "We may have restraint, but it would be irresponsible to change you. Do you know what you're asking? Your kind would kill you the instant they found out what you had become. You can never go back to the life you have now. You have to turn away from everything you've ever known. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Katie closed her eyes. When she opened them again they were full of tears. I realized that she had already thought about everything. The risk, the sacrifice, every downside to adopting our lifestyle. "I know how hard it will be. I mean, never seeing my family wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't close to my little brother. He is the only one that ever seemed to understand me. But I think it's worth it." She looked to her husband, who wiped a tear away from her cheek and kissed her softly.

I felt a pang of loneliness. My own husband was missing. Although I hated to disturb the couple's moment, I had to remind everyone of our original goal. "We still need to find Edward. He's out there somewhere and we're wasting time."

Katie, her eyes now free of tears, spoke up. "If it's ok with you, I want to come too. I think Josh and I could be useful." She looked down and smiled slightly. "Besides, I need to get to know you and Nessie better. It's weird, I didn't even know you existed until a couple weeks ago."

I looked at Carlisle and whispered "She can't go without being changed first."

"Can you wait three days more?" He knew that Katie had no objection to turning. All that held her back was me.

Did I really want to risk three more days? I looked into Katie's warm brown eyes as I thought. She seemed to plea wordlessly, begging me to wait for her.

I sighed and nodded. "I'll try."

**So, was the wait worth it? I know I left it at another cliffy but bear with me. At least this one isn't quite as big :P lol. Now, leave a review and tell me how I'm doing. :)**


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